More than 55,000 Canadian Sikhs voted in the Calgary Khalistan Referendum, dedicated to nine pro-Khalistan Canadian Sikhs who were assassinated by the Indian army in an armed clash.
The families of different Sikh separatist leaders flew in to cast votes and show support for the Khalistan referendum.
Geo’s Murtaza Ali Shah reported that Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York attorney and founder of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), addressed the charged crowd and vowed to bombard the Indian Independence Day, held on August 15, with the Khalistan Referendum campaign from Red Fort to Ranchi.
Pannun said that the SFJ, through a global referendum campaign, has equipped every Sikh household with a “powerful bomb that will only explode during Khalistan Referendum voting to liberate Punjab from Indian occupation.”
The choice is yours; either kill your enemy or kill the Indian system, said Pannun to a roaring crowd of thousands waiting to cast a vote in the Khalistan Referendum. He said: “SFJ’s choice of weapon is vote while India’s Modi is using violence to stop Khalistan Referendum. At present, pro-Khalistan Sikhs are not going to kill anyone in retaliation. Still, SFJ is going to kill the Indian system that is responsible for the genocide of Sikhs and the genocide of Punjab. In 1929, Shaheed Bhagat Singh bombarded the Indian legislative assembly to liberate India from British rule.”
Following Pannun’s speech, the Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC) announced to the crowd that the next phase of the Khalistan Referendum would take place in New Zealand in a few months.
Thousands of Sikhs queued from 4 am till 6 am at Calgary’s iconic Municipal to participate in the Khalistan Referendum, voting for creating an independent state of Khalistan for the Sikh nation. The nine Canadian national Sikhs assassinated by India for their political beliefs are Shaheed Lakhbir Singh Rode, Shaheed Bhupinder Singh Kooner, Shaheed Harjinder Singh Para, Shaheed Talwinder Singh Parmar, Shaheed Surinder Singh Shinder Commando, Shaheed Balbir Singh Khaira, Shaheed Jathedar Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Shaheed Mohinder Singh Kooner and Shaheed Surinder Singh Ravi.
Sikhs who gathered outside the city hall were carrying flags of Khalistan. The road outside has been decorated with large posters of Sikhs who embraced martyrdom for the Sikh causes – and are revered by the Sikhs across the world. The banners carried pictures of Sikh heroes and paid tribute to them.
Throughout the day, Calgary’s town hall echoed with slogans of “Khalistan Zindabad”, “Punjab banal ga Khalistan”, “Delhi banal ga Khalistan,” Rajasthan banal ga Khalistan”, Modi, stop terrorism against Sikhs”, India is a terrorist state”. The Sikhs said they will adhere to the principle set by their Gurus and will always look up the examples set by Sikh freedom fighters, including Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was assassinated last year by Indian agents in Surrey.
Veteran Khalistani leaders and President of the Council of Khalistan, Dr Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, said the turnout had amazed everyone. “The queue at one point stretched to nearly four kilometres. This is the measurement of Sikhs’ desire for freedom from India.
All the voting phases in the Khalistan Referendum are being held under the guidance and supervision of a panel of non-aligned direct democracy experts from the Punjab Referendum Commission (PRC). The Commission’s approved third-party staff conducts the whole voting process, from registration to supervision of ballot boxes and sealing the ballots at the end of the voting day to maintain the highest level of transparency. The PRC is conducting the voting on the question of “Should Indian Governed Punjab Be An Independent Country?” with two options of “Yes” and No”.
The Khalistan Referendum voting started on October 31, 2021, from London, UK, and has so far been held in several countries and cities across the UK: Geneva, Switzerland; Rome and Milan (Italy); the Australian cities of Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney; the American cities of San Francisco and Sacramento; the Canadian cities of Brampton, Mississauga, Malton (Ontario), Surrey Vancouver (British Columbia), and now Calgary.
